CORPUS CHRISTI - The folklorico outfits for Cinco de Mayo were vibrant. The music was upbeat.

But the mood was somewhat bittersweet on Thursday as Wynn Seale Academy of Fine Arts kicked off its 75th anniversary celebration.

This fall, Wynn Seale no longer will be a neighborhood middle school focusing on the arts. The school starts a new era as a kindergarten to sixth-grade magnet campus, as part of a $6.6 million federal grant for the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Schools of Design.

While the college preparatory program is the school's future, events through Monday celebrate its history.

Wynn Seale seventh-grader Ernesto Carcamo, 14, said he plans to say goodbye to his school by playing songs during Saturday's spring guitar show.

Ernesto, who has relatives who also attended Wynn Seale, said he will still play guitar at home, but it will not be like his classes at Wynn Seale where he practices with friends.

"It's still really not the same; playing alongside them," he said.

He said he is glad the school will be repurposed.

"It's still going strong," Ernesto said.

Wynn Seale will be the foundation of the Corpus Christi Independent School District's Schools of Design, where students can start developing multimedia portfolios as early as kindergarten. Seventh- through 12th-graders in the program will attend Miller High School.

Wynn Seale seventh-grader Kassandra Santos, 13, said she plans to attend the Miller program, but she will miss many of her Wynn Seale friends and teachers.

"It's going to be harder," she said. "I was already used to it."

Spanish teacher Lucia Garcia, an organizer of Thursday's Cinco de Mayo event, said the Wynn Seale transition is sad, but she hopes she will be able to continue folklorico and Latin music with CCISD students.

"This is something that makes my heart pump; pump faster," she said.

For the mariachi event, she invited former student Sebastian Vela to sing mariachi songs.

Sebastian, 17, a Premont High School junior, said he owes much of his musical chops to his classes at Wynn Seale.

Sebastian, who was among this year's top 25 in the American Idol tryouts in Austin, thinks the transition will mean the school can reach even more students at a younger age.

Garcia said her students can sense the transition coming.

"They feel it," she said. "That's why they try to get the best out of every day."

IF YOU GO

Wynn Seale Academy of Fine Arts will have multiple events to commemorate the school's 75th anniversary. All events are at the school, 1707 Ayers St.